By Sarah Roderick-Fitch | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – Loudoun County Schools once again finds itself at the center of controversy and a new investigation by the Commonwealth of Virginia, following an alleged incident involving a transgender student filming the opposite sex in a locker room.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Attorney General Jason Miyares announced that the attorney general’s office is investigating the school district’s “conduct.”
The investigation stems from reports that three male students “complained about the presence of a biological female in the boys’ locker room.” The students allege that the female student, “who identifies as male, used her cell phone to record the reaction of male students” upon entering the boys’ locker room.
In a joint statement released by Youngkin and Miyares, the governor called the reports “deeply concerning” of “yet another incident” involving Loudoun County schools, “where members of the opposite sex are violating the privacy of students in locker rooms.”
Youngkin further claims the “victims of the violation” are under investigation, which he argues is “beyond belief.”
“Students who express legitimate concerns about sharing locker rooms with individuals of the opposite biological sex should not be subjected to harassment or discrimination claims,” the governor said.
Youngkin highlighted model policies his office issued, including requiring students to use “the locker room corresponding to their sex” and requiring “parental notification if a student is permitted to use a locker room that differs from their biological sex,” while giving parents the right to “opt their child out and use alternate facilities.”
The investigation is the latest mark against Loudoun County schools on behalf of the commonwealth. In January, Miyares filed an amicus brief in the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in support of Loudoun County parents allegedly “silenced” by the school board.
The brief claimed the school board silenced parents critical of the district’s decision to reenroll a student with alleged gang ties and firearm offenses.
In May 2021, a girl was assaulted in the girls’ restroom at Stone Bridge High School, followed by a second assault of another female in a similar fashion that occurred in October 2021 after the perpetrator was transferred to Broad Run High School. The teen, a male who identified as a female, was later convicted.
The assaults sparked outrage in the community and throughout the country. The board faced lawsuits, but not before the second victim’s father was arrested during a June 2021 school board meeting for disorderly conduct after getting into a heated argument with school district officials.
Youngkin granted the father an absolute pardon.
